From creation of a new way to make movies to record-setting diamond sales, Orange County business people made news this year while changing the way their industries work.

Here are 14 leaders who made significant contributions to the Orange County business landscape in 2012.

Jim Jannard

Red Digital Cinema, Irvine

Bio: Founder of Irvine-based Red Digital Cinema, a pioneer in filmless movie cameras at ultra high resolutions that push the limits of imaging technology. He previously founded Oakley sunglasses.

What's news: Jannard's company continues to shift Hollywood in the direction of digital movie-making, fundamentally changing the way movies are made and experienced.

"The Hobbit" showed off Red's innovations. It's the first movie to be shown in 3-D theaters with double the frame rate of film, or 48 frames per second. To create the prequel to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, producer Peter Jackson used 60 of Red's high-end Epic cameras. For movie goers, the extra frames made epic battle scenes ultra vivid.

The debut of "The Hobbit" was a milestone for Red, a company with about 400 employees that sold its first ultra high-definition camera in 2007. Red cameras also have been used for other movies, including "The Great Gatsby" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful," "The Amazing Spider-Man," "Prometheus," "Flight," "Magic Mike," "The Muppets" and "The Social Network."

Quote: "Only one in 25 will have the opportunity to see The Hobbit at 48 (frames per second). Too bad," Jannard says at a Red online forum. "It is a new viewing experience; 24 of 25 of you will see it at 24fps. (yawn) Don't get me wrong ... it looks incredible at 24fps. But you are missing the point."

What's Next: Red is developing a "4K" projector for $10,000 and up that can pair with the recently launched Red Ray Player to play content at resolutions far better than today's best consumer televisions.

Mary Niven

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim

Bio: Vice president of Disney California Adventure and guest services for Disneyland Resort. Niven led the five-year, $1 billion effort to create Cars Land, a 12-acre theme area at California Adventure that opened in June. Cars Land has proved to be a hit, enabling Disney to set record attendance figures over the summer.

What's news: Disney's ambitious expansion made it Orange County's largest employer in 2012 with 25,000 people now on its payroll. Disneyland Resort surpassed UC Irvine (21,676 employees) by adding 5,000 workers for its $1 billion California Adventure makeover. The hiring spree represents one of the biggest in the county's history.

Niven, who was named one of the year's top 25 hottest people in Orange County by OC Metro Magazine, is a UCLA graduate who first made her mark in food and beverage for Disney. She became nationally recognized for developing and successfully implementing the first "marketplace" food concept in university residential dining in the United States.

Quote: "After a record-setting 2012, the coming year is an important one for the entire Disneyland Resort. With the Disney California Adventure expansion fully operational and thousands of new cast members onboard, we're quickly identifying new opportunities and experiences to further immerse our guests in the classic Disney stories they love."

What's Next: Niven hopes to continue to expand tourism – a major element of the county's economy – both at California Adventure and at the original Disneyland.

Related Links

Jim Jannard, seen in 2004 as the CEO of Oakley, Is the founder of Red Digital Cinema, which makes film-less movie cameras that work at high resolutions. FILE PHOTO; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mary Nevis is vice president of Disney California Adventure Park and Guest Services for Disneyland Resort.
Alfredo Molina, seen in this Nov. 21, 2012 photom recently returned from Geneva, where he auctioned off a 76-carat diamond for a record $21.5 million. Molina is shown in his office with items on display at Black, Starr & Frost Jewelers in Newport Beach. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
CEO Brian Fargo works in his offices at inXile entertainment in Newport Beach on April 3, 2012. In background right is a favorite sculpture entitled, "No Fear." "That's what you need to work in the video gaming field," joked Fargo. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Richard Sudek poses in Beckman Hall at Chapman University in Orange on , May 26, 2011. Sudek is head of Chapman University's Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics. FILE PHOTO: ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
STACKED restaurant co-founders Paul Motenko, left, and Jerry Hennessy pose at their restaurant in Cerritos. The restaurant is recognized as a national innovator for its iPad ordering system. Though the technology is still in its infancy, Motenko believes the concept is setting the bar for future. CHRISTINE COTTER, FOR THE REGISTER
David Pyott, president, chairman and CEO of Allergan, is seen in this photo from 2008. In December, UCLA Andersen School of Management named Pyott as the winner of its IS Associates Executive Leadership Award. FILE PHOTO: ANDY TEMPLETON, FOR THE REGISTER
Charles Ahlers is president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. He will step down in December. He is photographed in the Anaheim Convention Center. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Julie Miller-Phipps is senior vice president and executive director of Kaiser Permanente, which provides healthcare for 459,680 Orange County residents; and chairwoman of the board of directors of the Orange County Business Council
Maryam Rofougaran, vice president of Radio Engineering at Broadcom, and her brother Ahmadreza (Reza) Rofougaran, Vice President, RF Engineering & Chief Technologist pose in front of some of their patents Irvine offices. PAUL BERSEBACH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Scott Burnham is CEO of the Newport Beach-based commercial real estate development company, with numerous holdings throughout Orange County, including the South Coast Home Furnishings Center in Costa Mesa.
Entrepreneur Chris Keller bought Laguna Beach hotel La Casa del Camino in 2002. COURTESY OF SEAN ARMENTA

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